Orange County NC Website
8 <br /> Orange County and the Town of Hillsborough have been coordinating planning efforts around <br /> the common interest land fringes of the Town of Hillsborough since 2002. These efforts led to <br /> more formalized 2007 acceptance of an area `Strategic Growth Plan' and the pursuit of an <br /> interlocal agreement that proposed additional implementation steps by both local governments. <br /> This included joint land use plans and water and sewer boundary analysis and amendment. <br /> The majority of the implementation actions have been completed and the September 12, 2016 <br /> Quarterly Public Hearing noted some further refinement of the earlier principals of the growth <br /> plan — specifically, to reinforce the preservation of the economic development of areas near <br /> the intersection of 1-40 and Old NC 86 for primarily non-residential land use activities. <br /> Interchange areas are limited and valuable for office, light industrial and retail development. <br /> Accordingly Orange County had designated this area, primarily outside the Town of <br /> Hillsborough ETJ areas but noted on the County land use plan since the 1980's, as economic <br /> development. (Waterstone was once one of these areas). <br /> Being so noted, Orange County sought to bolster the area's potential by facilitating utility <br /> extension and accordingly adding this to the Article 46 Capital Investment Plan (CIP) projects <br /> list. A prerequisite to utility extension is a utility agreement (such as prior agreements with the <br /> City of Mebane (2002) and City of Durham (2010) to set forth conditions where Orange County <br /> constructs such utilities and other utility entities provide reservation of capacity and treatment, <br /> accept ownership, and maintain facilities thereafter. <br /> The agreement covers a variety of subjects including but not limited to design standards, <br /> infrastructure responsibility and fees and charges. In this case, as we have with other local <br /> governments, we are including a land use plan (modified on September 12, 2016), so the <br /> County infrastructure investment relate to the economic development plan. Uses therein were <br /> further reviewed and approved for modification on November 1, 2016 to promote industrial, <br /> office, and retail uses and restrict the area from lower density residential. The infrastructure <br /> reimbursement program, if any, for this project area will be based on targeted land uses and <br /> any other adopted `development' agreements on a case-by-case basis. <br /> On April 24 at a Town of Hillsborough work session, the Town of Hillsborough elected officials <br /> and staff in concept agreed to <br /> 1. Focus the interlocal agreement on the southwest quadrant only which is earmarked <br /> for non-residential `employment land use', therein excluding multifamily land use; <br /> and <br /> 2. Setting a capacity reservation of 108,000 gallons per day for 5 years with <br /> renewable provisions. <br /> This enables the pursuit of engineering design to serve this quadrant. <br /> Craig Benedict, Planning and Inspections Director, said this item has been revised, and <br /> is the gray sheet at the Commissioners' places. <br /> Craig Benedict said the purpose of this agreement is to have an agreement with the <br /> Town of Hillsborough, so that if the County installs public utilities with the use of Article 46 <br /> economic development monies, that the Town of Hillsborough will maintain the lines in the <br /> future, and provide water in the lines, and treat the sewage. He said this type of agreement is <br /> not unique, and the County has a similar agreement with the City of Mebane and City of <br /> Durham in the County's Economic Development Districts (EDDs). <br />